The GDV Guide To An Effortless Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time of year. The kick off to the holiday season, we all love the excuse to decorate our homes festively in celebration of the harvest. Although there are plenty of ways that one can celebrate this holiday—be that near or far, sharing the moment with a large group or making it an intimate gathering—we are sharing some of our wisdom from Thanksgiving’s past to make your Turkey Day more seamless, enjoyable, and celebratory all around.
1) Never leave your table decorating until the last minute.
You don't want to be juggling between food prep, setting the table, and getting yourself ready. Doing it ahead of time is just one thing to strike off your list of to dos.
2) Use placecards.
Unless you have a more casual or very intimate thanksgiving gathering, it’s often a good idea to thoughtfully consider who may enjoy sitting next to whom. It's an exciting way of being able to separate groups that may not otherwise branch out, and to create interesting, stimulating conversations around the table. Also, if you're having a kids table, you need to make sure that you have that prepped ahead of time so children to assume they're sitting anywhere they please at the adults table.
3) Address your powder room.
It’s easy to forget about the powder room when you’re so focused on everything else. If you’re having guests over, they may or may not need to use the bathroom while they are there. Make sure that you install a fragrance (diffuser can be put in the night before, a candle should be lit 30 mins before guests arrive). Be sure that you have enough hand wash / hand lotion as well as clean hand towels (disposable or otherwise) as well!
4) Pre-prep and freeze when possible.
There are lot more recipes that you can pre-prep that you may think. We highly recommend doing this whenever possible.
5) What's your servingware situation?
Make sure you actually pull out everything you’re planning on using ahead of time to really see whether it will work for the dish. There’s nothing worse than realizing too late that something won't work, or equally that you can't find something that you thought that you had.
6) Make a cooking playbook.
Now that you know what you’re making and what you’re serving it in, make a play book! It’s so much easier to know all the times of how long your different dishes need to cook. That way you can be sure that none of what you’re cooking will be delayed.
7) Invest in oven-to-table cookware.
If you’re someone who enjoys cooking, it is a game changer. We love these sophisticated yet functional pieces:
Shop Oven-to-Table Servingware
8) If you’re going to someone else’s home, don’t show up early or empty handed.
No matter your price range, it’s always a good gesture to show up with something. Discover some of our favorites from candles, to barware, to serving ware.
Shop our favorite hostess gifts
9) Have a good looking, clean apron.
Of course most of your cooking will be done, not in the outfit you’re wearing for thanksgiving. But in case there’s still some more work to be done, or serving to do when guests arrive, you don’t want to be wearing the dirty apron you were using all morning. Change into something clean and sophisticated to protect your beautiful outfit, and to appear clean + presentable.
10) Know your after dinner (or between courses) entertainment options.
Whether after the whole meal or for a nice reprieve between dinner and dessert, we love having some sort of activity. Of course you can watch football, but puzzles and board games are also a fun way for everyone to connect and enjoy each others company.
We wish you a joyous and memorable Thanksgiving!